Avatar: The Search for Xiaoli
by Kent Vonce
Summary: When the Avatar that succeeds Korra goes missing, his long lost sister goes on a journey to find him


Fire

Wind

Water

Earth

For the first year of my childhood, my family lived together in harmony. That all changed when the Red Lotus destroyed my home and killed my parents. The Avatar, master of all four elements, turned out to be my older brother. He protected me from the Red Lotus, and then vanished.

18 years passed and there are rumors that my brother is now a fully realized Avatar. Although I'm alone, I want to find him, and I will search the world.

* * *

A bright light slowly came into her view. A ceiling was the only thing she saw. As a sense of ease crept into her very being, she recognized the scene from the many times she's dreamed the dream before.

Two faces, a man and a woman, came into view. Familiar, and yet at the same time, unfamiliar. They smiled and laughed as their hands reached toward her, their faces showing unchanging joy and yet marked with lines of stress. They seemed to be speaking, and yet, she has never known what they have said, and she dreaded what she knew would follow.

Red flames burst through the scene. From her limited point of view she saw nothing, but the two faces contorted in fear and surprise. The two figures moved away with haste, all joy drained from their faces. Feelings of heat controlled the dream. The light disappeared suddenly but the bursts of flame continued to light up the vision. The ceiling was torn away violently and the stars shone through. The view now shifted wildly, as if she were shaking her head. Another burst of flame. The female figure backed away from something, and moved closer to her. There was another bright red burst of flame, and the figure was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, a large and decidedly solid object hovered into view. It stayed there for a few moments, and then began to drop.

A burst of cold wind suddenly prevails and the object is knocked away. A small figure rose into the air, glowing brightly. The light began to shine brighter and brighter and glowed powerfully, until she could see nothing else.

And then she woke.

No sweat that night. The chilly desert wind blew softly through the window, the sounds of the night being carried with it.

"That dream again."

She stood up; her long black hair swayed softly in the wind, unruly from her fitful slumber. As she walked to the window, she thought to herself.

_I am Jia. When I was a baby, a group known as the Red Lotus attacked my home and killed my parents. My brother, who is the Avatar, entered the Avatar state and drove them away. The White Lotus found only me. I was raised by the people I know as my parents, Gen and Fan of the Qilian tribe._

She shook her head fiercely. The hiss of a rattlescorpion's tail pierced the night, signaling a kill for the predator.

"I still can't believe it. That dream… it was all real…"

Jia rested both her elbows on the windowsill, clutching her head in her hands. Another chill breeze blows through her and yet she felt none of it.

"I have a brother out there, and he's the Avatar!"

As she raised her head and stared out into the waning crescent moon, she made a decision.

"I've got to find him."

* * *

It wasn't the silence that affected her confidence. It was their worry. Etched on each face was the worry of a true parent.

Will she come back?  
Will she be safe?  
What will she have to eat?  
Will I ever see her again?

Myriad questions lie beneath the surface, and Jia could very nearly read them all. Still, she stood her ground. A decision as important as the one she had made the night before cannot be overturned so easily. The hot wind of a desert morning blew through the small house; a vase containing a single flower rattled as the wind shook it on its little pedestal near the window. She stared her bright green eyes at them. They could not meet her gaze for long.

"Jia," her father began, "I know how yesterday's news was a shock for you. But you can't make these sort of rash decisions!"

She'd been expecting resistance. She knew they wouldn't let her go so easily, although she wasn't a child anymore at 19 years of age. It was time to put her foot down if she wanted to get anywhere. The house shook a little as she stamped her foot on the bare floor. The vase did its little dance one more time.

"I need to find him. He's my brother," she held her hands out to both of them, "I know you raised me, and you'll always be my parents. But I want to get to know my brother, and maybe if I find him, I can finally find out who I really am."

Her mother and father were not ready for her last statement. After a moment of silence, they each took a hand, smiled at their adopted daughter, and simply nodded. No words were needed, and none could be said at that moment, as tears flowed down their cheeks. Jia stood up and took a step towards them. Her parents got up slowly and embraced her tightly, their touch sending more messages than their words ever could.

* * *

Jia took a meager selection of food with her, two water pouches, and a few items of clothing. Sandbenders don't last if they don't know how to forage off of the desert, and she didn't expect to stay in the desert for long. As she stepped outside the little town their tribe called home, she waved one last goodbye to both parents and got on her sand sailer. It was smaller than the ones her father and the other sandbenders used, but it was hers. Maintaining it was her daily ritual, and she would never forget the days she spent with her father building it under the hot desert sun. She'd prepared her desert-travelling attire for the trip: long pants, a long sleeved shirt over a shirt made of a lighter cloth, a bandanna, a pair of goggles, and a long scarf that was useful in the heat to hide her face, and at nights, when the desert might drop below freezing.

"Jia!"

Her father was running towards her.

"I almost forgot. But, if you ever need to show any proof, your best clue is the birthmark on your shoulder. Don't show it otherwise."

"Dad. Thank you. I won't forget.

She gave her father one last hug and stepped on her sand sailer. She faced east, towards the sun, donned her goggles, pulled her bandanna low, and wrapped her scarf around her mouth and nose for protection. Concentrating on the task at hand, she propelled the sand sailer away from the home she'd known for 18 years, and away from the family she grew up with.

_I'm going to find you, brother, no matter how long it takes._

* * *

Navigating the burning sands of the Si Wong desert was no longer the lonely and quiet journey it was almost a century ago. Spirits of many shapes and sizes would hop on board often and keep her company as she guided the sand sailer to an oasis. Noon was approaching and Jia preferred to be in the nice cool shade of a tree and next to water by then.

Relief washed over her as she saw trees come into her line of sight. Her arms began to feel tired as she neared the oasis but she pushed on. She sped the sand sailer up, dust trailing behind it, as the sun rose higher into the sky. The spirits currently on board held on to each other or to the sailer itself, the wind threatening to push off the lighter ones.

It took another couple of minutes to get to the oasis, but she eventually slowed the sailer down and stopped. Some of the spirits got off or flew off in different directions but a majority rushed to the oasis. Jia waved goodbye to the departing spirits and headed for the water. No other people were there at the moment, bt she knew that might change in an hour or so. Some larger spirits were resting under the shade of the numerous peach and palm trees there and Jia made sure not to disturb any of them. Once under the cool atmosphere, she removed her bandanna, scarf, and goggles. Shaking her hair loose, she began to wash her protective gear in the water.

Once Jia had refilled both of her water pouches, she headed for the shade of a palm tree, unoccupied save for some spirits resting in its high branches. She let the active buzz of the spirits wash over her as she sat down and closed her eyes.

* * *

"A Merchant!"

"Are you resting mister?"

"Your camelephant looks rather malnourished, perhaps you would not mind if I... nibbled?"

Jia opened her eyes. Every thing was still a little blurry so she gave her eyes a rub and stretched out.

"He's completely fine and yes, I would mind!"

A merchant seemed to have just arrived. Some of the more curious spirits had gathered around him and were asking him all sorts of questions. One spirit, however, was eyeing the merchant's camelephant hungrily.

"Perhaps I could make you a bargain... ?"

_It wouldn't be good if he lost that camelephant of his. And maybe I can get something out of this without getting my hands dirty._

She strode forward, waving away some of the hovering spirits in her path. She gave a warm, disarming smile to the merchant and the spirits as she passed them.

"All right, you spirits leave him alone, he needs the rest."

Most of the smaller spirits scattered and went on their business, although some stayed to watch. The spirit that was blocking the merchant's path was large and quadrupedal. Its bright yellow squat body seemed gelatinous, as if it didn't have any real shape. It had no head and instead its face was directly on its body. It stood to about Jia's waist, and she wasn't very excited about having to face off against a spirit of its size. Its eyes moved away from the front of its body and moved up onto its back until it could stare at Jia.

"Don't worry about us, human, we are just making a deal, of sorts."

"No we're not! I just want to rest and get a drink, let me through!"

The way it spoke was unnerving, but as a member of a sandbender tribe, Jia was used to facing carnivorous spirits and the more common sand shark. Jia also knew that the merchant's panic would not help.

"Sir, you can calm down," She gestured slowly towards him, "we'll leave you alone."

She turned to the spirit whose mouth had moved over between two of its legs. It began to frown, and its eyes glared intently at Jia.

It leapt.

But Jia was ready for it. She shifted her left leg back and raised her arms up to her face, sending an earthen pillar straight into the spirit's gelatinous body. With a loud grunt, the spirit was launched into the air, twisting as it went on its trajectory away from the oasis.

"So much for not getting my hands dirty."

She turned to the merchant and grinned sheepishly, her white teeth contrasting her dark skin.

"Sorry about that."

"No no no no! Thank you, girl!"

The merchant took her hand and shook it vigorously.

"How can I repay you?"

_That's more like it._

"I'm travelling, and I really don't know where I need to go just yet, so I might need some supplies."

"Say no more!"

The merchant hurried to the packs on the back of his camelephant and began rummaging.

"This, and this, and oooh! THIS. No, not that. Ah HA!"

When he was finished, he brought over a sack and handed it over to Jia.

"I must say," he said with a grin, "It's nice to meet a sandbender whose first instinct isn't to loot and rob."

Jia raised an eyebrow at this, but the merchant seemed to mean no ill will.

"No offense to my people, I'm sure," she said dryly.

"Of course, of course."

The merchant began refilling several large water pouches.

"Now is there anything else I can help you with?"

"There is one important thing."

Jia took a deep breath, steadying herself to ask the question and receive whatever answer.

"I'm looking for the Avatar."

The merchant straightened up and slowly turned to Jia while rubbing his chin.

"The _Avatar_, you say... hmm. Now I've been places in this desert, and I've heard rumors."

Jia felt dejected. She didn't believe in rumors. Not without basis, anyway, rumors tended to get people killed out in the desert. It wouldn't be worth that for just a rumor of her brother's whereabouts.

"But in my travels, I've heard tales that the avatar wasn't born, and just came from the sky."

Jia's ears pricked up. She stared at the merchant. The merchant shrugged.

"Mind you, this is from one of you sandbender tribes so I really don't know what to make of it."

"That's enough of a lead! Thank you!"

"Oh you're welcome. See you, when I see you. And thanks again!"

She made a little bow and ran back to her glider. She could barely suppress a grin. A lead! She would have to visit one of the sandbender tribes to learn more. Working quickly, she checked if her sand sailer needed any repairs or if anything was out of place. She tied down the sack of food the merchant gave her, wrapped herself up for the next leg of her desert journey, and began sandbending.

* * *

Once the initial excitement had worn off, Jia had to face reality. Hers wasn't the only tribe in the desert, and it wouldn't be an easy time travelling between towns. As the sun set, she set her sand sailer to a stop. Nighttime is a cooler time in the desert, and seems ideal for travel, but she knew that at night, she would face unseen dangers. Consulting her map and compass, she set a course for the nearest town and went off, due north. Her best bet was with the sandbender towns that lay along the established trade routes. More people meant more information.

She reached a little town just as the sun hit the horizon. The red sunset at her left drew a long shadow in the sand as the sailer coasted to a stop.

"Hey there! You!"

A young man about her age, in the attire typical to sandbenders, was coming to her as she stepped off her sailer. The couple of spirits that were with her hurried into town. She removed her goggles and her scarf as the man drew near.

"Where did you come from? I have a few questions!"

"Rather loud, aren't you?"

"It's a mess!"

"What's a mess?"

"Where've you been, man, haven't you heard?"

Jia removed her bandanna and let her hair fall, loose and long.

"Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh... uh. I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

Jia raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't know I was a woman?"

"No! Uh..."

"So now you can't talk? Pretty big change isn't it?"

Jia placed her left hand on her hip, her left holding her goggles, bandanna, and scarf. The man glared at her.

"Mommy taught me not to be rude to women. That's all."

"Sounds like you got a good mom."

"Best mother in the world!" he announced, then shrugged sheepishly, "Well, the Si Wong desert at least."

Jia came close and held out a hand.

"My name's Jia."

The man took her hand and shook it, looking into her eyes.

"Kai Jiao. Sorry about that. Didn't know you weren't from here."

"That's fine. How about you take my sailer in and we call it quits?"

Kai Jiao laughed, "You drive a hard bargain, Jia, but sure."

* * *

Once the sand sailer was secure, Kai Jiao accompanied Jia into the town.

"So what was it about?"

"What was what about?"

"When I arrived, you were yelling about some questions you had."

"I wasn't yelling! And that doesn't really concern you since it's a town thing."

Jia shrugged. It wasn't her place to meddle, even with other sandbender towns.

"So what brings you here?"

"Me? I'm looking for the Avatar."

Kai looked at her in surprise.

"Whoa. But nobody knows where the Avatar is! It's been a couple decades since Avatar Korra died and nobody knows anything!"

"I do have a clue. Ever heard of a legend that the Avatar came down from the sky?"

"Ha! Not in this town. And believe me, I KNOW every legend our tribe has."

Jia nodded dejectedly.

"Listen, I need a place to stay for the night, I'm heading for the trade route early in the morning. Is the inn cheap?"

"Sure. The Singing Badgermole's pretty cheap. It's on that side of town." He pointed to the east, down a well-lit street.

"Singing Badgermole, huh? Well thanks, Kai Jiao."

"No problem."

Jia headed for the inn, stretching her arms as she walked. She was looking forward to a good night's rest. As she passed by an alley, she saw an air nomad and his sky bison on the other street, talking with a rather well-dressed man. It reminded her of the many times the air nomads had helped her own town by bringing food when hunting was scarce.

_They're always around, aren't they?_

When she reached the inn, she paid for a room and had a light dinner. She was ready to move out early the next day.

* * *

"Hey!"

Jia found Kai Jiao on her sand sailer at before sunrise, she waved to him as she approached.

"Hey, Jia, just checking to make sure your sailer didn't need repairs."

"Thanks. I gotta run, though. Following that legend might take me a few months, just to get through all the sandbender tribes and towns."

"I figured. Well, good luck! And I'll be seein' ya."

"You take care. And maybe I'll pass by here again once I've found him. Bye!"

Jia climbed onboard her sand sailer and set off north again, heading a little bit east this time to try to get to the closest town along the trade route.

* * *

She reached the town of Huang early in the afternoon. As one of the towns on the established trade route across the desert, Huang was a bustling place, and a hotpot of different kinds of people. Unfortunately, this also meant that it had a higher crime rate than other towns as well. Jia saw this in action just as she reached the gate. A man dashed out, followed by two Earth Republic policemen.

As she watched, the policemen launched themselves over the escaping man and quickly earthbended the earth around him to keep him immobile.

"You can't do this! I have rights!"

The policemen approached the man, their uniforms reminiscent of military uniforms in the United Republic, but not as stiff. A casual element allowed the uniforms to be friendly to the eye.

"Sir, you have the right to remain silent. Should you choose not to do so, your words can and may be used against you in court. You may have an attorney. Should you be unable to procure one, one shall be provided for you."

The man fell quiet as he, as well as the rock surrounding him, was levitated into the air and carried back into the town.

Jia followed them in and the noise hit her like a brick wall. The buzz of society contrasted heavily with what she was used to.

_I don't remember this town being this noisy._

She steadied herself and walked on, heading for the market at the town's center. Sandbenders needed to sell things and that's where she decided she might find people from the right tribe. On the way there, she was eyed suspiciously by a policeman. She turned to face him.

"Can I help you... sir?"

"Don't you dare cause any trouble around here, sandbender. We don't take well to thieves."

She refused to dignify it with a response. She turned her nose up at the policeman and stormed off towards the market.

* * *

When she reached the market, she looked around for any sandbenders. As she walked, she dodged the tail of a sky bison whose air nomad was choosing from a selection of whistles. She admired the firebending tricks being done in the middle of the plaza and took a look at some ice sculptures by artisans from the Water Tribes. There were quite a few sandbenders around and she asked around for any information.

Asking around about the Avatar and the legend she'd heard didn't yield much information. The sandbenders mostly stared at her in incredulity, or informed her that the Avatar has never been found. At this she tried a different tack. She first told them she was looking for her brother. And work the legend into conversation. Mostly the other sandbenders just thought she was crazy.

"Aaargh! I'm getting nowhere! This lead is bogus!"

Her frustration did give way as the sun set. She tried a few more times but without much hope. Things changed as nightfall neared.

"Where'd you hear that legend?"

A sandbender spun around when he heard her.

"From a travelling merchant. My brother is the Avatar you see, and it's all the information I could-"

"The Avatar's your brother?"

"Well that's what the White Lotus told my parents- sorry- the people who adopted me."

"You'd better follow me. You have a sand sailer?"

Jia nodded. Hope welled up in her heart. She excitedly followed the sandbender outside the town. After getting into her own sailer, she watched as the man looked back at her. She nodded at him, telling him she was ready. Together they sped off into the desert.

* * *

After about 15 minutes of travel, they reached a stone in the middle of the desert. They stopped there and the man beckoned her to follow him to the stone. Warily, she stepped off of her sailer and followed some distance behind him. She kept herself aware of her surroundings as she walked on the sand. When they reached the rock, the man stopped. The man earthbended the stone up high that it seemed like an obelisk, a sore thumb in the middle of the desert.

"We wait for a little while."

Jia was just starting to relax when sandbenders came up from the sand around them. Quickly she bended the sand to attack but the sandbenders were quick to defend. Realizing the futility in attacking, she raised her hands over her head. She decided to speak up.

"What tribe are you from?"

A sandbender stepped forward. He was heavily built. But like the others, he had his features concealed by the goggles and headgear.

"We'll be asking the questions. Why are you looking for the Avatar?"

"I already told him! I'm his sister! And why does it matter so much? Isn't everyone looking for him?"

"Yes they are. And some of them aren't very good people. How do we know you're telling the truth?"

Jia dropped her arms.

"You can't. All I know is that the White Lotus found me 18 years ago, and gave me a family. Each night I have these... dreams. And sometimes I dream of the attack. The attack where I lost my parents, and my brother. And this."

She dropped her arms, and pulled down the two layers of shirts she was wearing and exposed her birthmark on her left shoulder. It was a perfect circle, right on the joint. The head sandbender came close and inspected her proof.

"What is your name, girl?"

"It's Jia."

"Jia, we welcome you. You've found your brother's tribe."

* * *

The apparent leader of the sandbenders was an older man named Quan. He had short, greying hair and stubble on his chin, still black. After inntroducing himself and welcoming her, he led her to their lair underground, connected to a cave several kilometers away. The lair itself was lit with torches and was empty, save for the sandbenders and a single pillar in the middle.

"We use this lair as a hiding spot in case of emergencies and to protect any important stuff. Pretty much no one knows its here."

"And you can use it as an ambushing spot."

"Exactly. The stone outside is connected to this pillar right here in the middle. If it moves, it means someone up there needs help."

"Wow. Good system."

"It works." Quan shifted his position, "Now about the Avatar."

Jia snapped to attention, her body rigid with anticipation as she sat cross-legged on the cavern floor.

"Do you know anything about him?"

"No, nothing."

"Good. His name is Xiaoli. That legend in our tribe is a story that was passed around about how I found him. You see, I adopted him."

"How _did_ you find him?"

"It was nighttime. The sky was dark. I remember seeing a lot of stars, then. I remember thinking to myself, 'what a bright star that is' when it started shining even brighter. Turns out it was moving, so I followed it. I saw it falling, slow at first, then faster and faster." he gave a small laugh, "I had to jump out of my sailer just to catch him. And catch him I did. I took him back to my wife, Lah."

"And then?"

"He wouldn't tell us where he was from. All he gave us was his name and that he was 3 years old. We decided to raise him. Lah and I couldn't have children, you see and, well, that speaks for itself."

Quan leaned back against the wall.

"He grew up. Then one day, when he was 9, he told us that he was the Avatar. Although, I already figured he was special, what with the glowing and falling out of the sky. That day he told us everything. I decided to protect him, but even that wouldn't last."

In the flickering torchlight, Jia could almost swear that she saw some tears roll off of Quan's face.

"We took care of anyone who was too nosy and didn't belong with the White Lotus, and we even kept them in the dark. You see, he was being hunted by a group of anarchists called the Red Lotus. So we would stop them, cut off any information, spread rumors to mislead them. That was all well and good but 7 years ago, he was 14 then, he announced he would be leaving."

"So he's not with you anymore?"

"No. He said he needed to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and he needed to do it in secret. He's a very good sandbender, I can tell you that. He was 14 then. He said he planned to learn to really master earthbending before he got started with the other elements. So he went to Zaofu."

"Zaofu!"

Another lead! Jia was almost ecstatic, she could barely contain herself. She learned so much about her brother and now she'd gotten another lead!

"That's the last I heard of him. He told me to keep it a complete secret. But..."

"Quan?"

"He was a lonely kid, and I think he's still alone. I know I'm not his real father, but to me, he's my son. And I want him to know that it's okay to have someone you care about. Maybe you can teach him that. I'll take you to the train station tomorrow. You can take that to Zaofu. It'd be much quicker."

"Thank you so much!"

"I do what I can for my son. Now you find him for me, and tell him to write home once in a while."

Jia smiled a great big smile.

"I will!"

* * *

"Thanks a lot!"

Jia waved at Quan from the train door. She'd changed into clothes not meant for the desert, and that meant a simple green shirt and brown pants held by a cloth belt tied at the left side of her waist. He also advised her to fill one of her water pouches with sand instead since she's more used to bending sand than hard packed earth.

"You're welcome! Take care!"

"I will!"

The doors closed and Jia took a seat, placing her small bag on her lap rather than overhead. She looked out the window and watched as the desert moved, then sped by as the train picked up speed. She'd found a trail she could follow. She'd found a clue.

She was heading to Zaofu.

* * *

**Hey there! Kent Vonce here after a LONG period of inactivity. *YAWN*  
**

**Anyway, my first Avatar related story, posting it in the Korra section since it talks about my OC Avatar who succeeds Korra. And because I may be referencing the second series more than the first in this story.**

**Hope you had fun and look out for more!**


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